It’s an indirect tax on wealth. Unlike the 40-50 % income taxes that the other g10 nations employ.Lisafuller wrote: ↑Sun, 26 Jun 2022 6:17 amWho said anything about making things fair? When has the government ever picked being fair over making money? But also the system you’ve proposed that allows reselling of COE would probably create the same outcome, those who were unsuccessful in the ballot would just have to buy from others and bid prices up to equally crazy high amounts. The only difference is that the people would benefit instead of the government.Myasis Dragon wrote: ↑Sat, 25 Jun 2022 11:00 pmIf Singapore wanted to make car ownership "fair", they'd dump the COE system and go to a simple lottery. They know exactly how many COE's will be issued. A lottery would permit poorer people to buy a car OR sell the COE to someone else willing to pay for it. Time limits could be set for lottery winners... use it or sell it within a specified period of time or lose it.Lisafuller wrote: ↑Sat, 25 Jun 2022 4:26 amThe difference in places like the US is that the public transport system is not nearly as advanced as it is in Singapore so a lot of times if you don’t have a car you quite literally have no way of getting around. Whereas in Singapore the problem is the converse where we have too many cars and not enough room on the road so they need to price things so high that only those who truly truly are willing to make the financial sacrifice are able to get a car.
Nothing is perfect, and anyway you can spin a story that you’re trying to ease congestion and save the environment here.